I'm in the market for a front door lock, as the current lock needs an update. Not interested in smart locks, just a normal door lock, though obviously as secure as possible, preferably not self locking when the door is shut, otherwise i'd get locked out every other day. Are there any recommendations for particular brands/specific models? I've had a look online, and don't have the foggiest idea of which ones are better than which.
Front Door Locks
- Thread starter daztrouk
- Start date
Soldato
What type of door do you have and current lock will help
Caporegime
Be easier to buy an entire new door with lock...
Man of Honour
You've got a plywood front door?
lol, i know absolutely nothing about doors/wood. The door looks like that in terms of colour and design, apart from mine being a bit darker. It's a solid door....lol
Thanks for suggestions so far, will check that lock out Macca, appreciated
Are night latch locks thought of as secure? Im guessing it's more convenient to go this route due to already having one, but im basically trying to find the most secure lock possible no matter the type
Permabanned
You really want a 5 lever mortise lock if security is important.
I locked myself out once and was able to kick my door in surprisingly easily with just a night latch lock on it. Since then I’ve added a mortise lock and would need a battering ram to now force the door in.
https://www.locksonline.co.uk/Five-Lever-Dead-Locks-.html
I locked myself out once and was able to kick my door in surprisingly easily with just a night latch lock on it. Since then I’ve added a mortise lock and would need a battering ram to now force the door in.
https://www.locksonline.co.uk/Five-Lever-Dead-Locks-.html
Soldato
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- 13 May 2003
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I'd be surprised if your insurance covered you if you only have a night latch. You need a 5 lever mortice as a minimum assuming you don't want to go for a UPVc front door.
Soldato
We just have a night latch on our front door and not had an issue with insurance yet (i state the type of lock).
Soldato
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@Martynt74 Fair challenge. It might be that it causes you have a higher premium instead then. In the last 10 years I can't remember a time a policy didn't ask about 5 lever kitemarked locks. But that might have set the risk profile for the policy and we got reductions in premium by having kitemarked 5 lever locks rather than it be a subject for refusal.
Soldato
Yeah, definitely at a higher premium. We're very close to a river and some tall trees though, along with some high value items covered so i just expect to be bummed at renewal time anyway
Soldato
Where are you guys getting this 5-lever is secure concept from? 5 lever is really 3-lever because levers 4 and 5 have to be same as levers 1 and 3 (symmetrical key ways) so to decode a 5-lever lock you only need to feel the first three levers and you’ve got all five. They sell Fire Brigade sets of entry keys for most 5-lever locks! Many of them if you read the code off the key they’ll just hand one off the rack because they’re pattern shapes.
Night latches are very secure if they are fitted properly ie. a tightly fitting door with the latch protector fitted. The attack with with mica cards only really works if you can see light through the door frame although you can use expanding wedges to open that gap and use the mica cards. But that’s not very covert! And if you deploy the anti-lifting tab then it’s almost impossible to gain entry non-destructively ie. drill it out.
If you want truly secure, you need at least three points of contact between the locking mechanism and the door ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DOOR or you just knock in the hinge side (because it’s weak).
Night latches are very secure if they are fitted properly ie. a tightly fitting door with the latch protector fitted. The attack with with mica cards only really works if you can see light through the door frame although you can use expanding wedges to open that gap and use the mica cards. But that’s not very covert! And if you deploy the anti-lifting tab then it’s almost impossible to gain entry non-destructively ie. drill it out.
If you want truly secure, you need at least three points of contact between the locking mechanism and the door ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DOOR or you just knock in the hinge side (because it’s weak).
Permabanned
I can tell you from first hand experience that night latches are not great for security. I kicked the door in easily because the latch is only held in by 3 screws and just split the door frame (it’s the second time on 2 separate doors that I have been able to do that). I couldn’t do that with the mortise lock. Is a mortise lock impenetrable? of course not but it’s far more secure than the night latch.
Realistically no one would be able to kick my door in because it’s not actually the front door, I have a upvc frontdoor, it’s the original front door but we now have a porch.
I’m happy enough but if someone wanted to break in it would be far easier to just break a window. But I’ve done what I can.
Soldato
Errr - who installed your night latch? You or a locksmith? I could kick in a 9-lever mortice because it’s only held in by the same 1” deep bolt that night latch with Eurocylinder is. If the people breaking in are happy to make a lot of noise and do huge physical damage then very few doors will withstand being hit.
There are specific fixings for different doors and it sounds like yours wasn’t installed properly.
There are specific fixings for different doors and it sounds like yours wasn’t installed properly.
Permabanned
The lock was already fitted so no idea but I did replace it for one like the pic that was posted above. It was like for like so no changes was needed.
I did fit the mortise lock myself and I not going to argue but I know for sure it’s far harder to kick in. For a start the latch is set into the door frame not screwed to the face of it. Same as the lock.
Soldato
The challenge isn’t whether or not you could kick it in. The challenge is whether or not someone could stealthily gain entry to your property. Locks only keep out good, decent, people. When you lose your keys and you call a locksmith they generally charge a one-off fee to get you in. And they price that on a certain amount of time on site. Usually 20 minutes. If they can’t bypass, rake, pick or decode your lock then they’ll usually have to destroy the lock which is OK because that’s extra to replace it with a new one. That means that most skilled locksmiths reckon they can defeat pretty much any lock in 20 minutes. And that’s the outside time. Sometimes you see locks with daylight steaming round them. And the guard plate was never fitted. That’s a mica card job. Literally seconds. Most eurocylinders you just rake out with a multi pick or single-pin pick if you can’t make any noise. 2-3 minutes. The more advanced Eurocylinders (Ultion etc.) Have decoders available. Maybe 10-15 minutes to decode a 7-pin Eurocylinder. And decoders are available for all mortice locks. The feelers are expensive ~£200 but once you have one, and you know how to use it you can construct a 3, 5, 7 or even 9-lever key form in minutes.
I have (and still do) work(ed) in various areas of security and I’d rather have a cheap lock installed by a locksmith than an expensive lock installed by an amateur.
Permabanned
That’s fair enough. I’m happy with what I have it’s better than what was on it before.
Permabanned
So I’ll post some pics of my door.
This is from the outside
This one from the inside
Side on
The mortise latch
And finally the night latch which if you look above and below you can see where the door frame has split when I kicked it open.
Not exactly fort Knox but enough including the upvc front door to put all but the most determined thief. Basically they’ll be looking at my neighbours houses before mine but no way would I just have a night latch in a million years.
This is from the outside
This one from the inside
Side on
The mortise latch
And finally the night latch which if you look above and below you can see where the door frame has split when I kicked it open.
Not exactly fort Knox but enough including the upvc front door to put all but the most determined thief. Basically they’ll be looking at my neighbours houses before mine but no way would I just have a night latch in a million years.
Soldato
I think we're talking at slight cross-purposes here. Your night latch actually looks reasonably well installed although there should be a plate that stops anyone sliding anything up or down through the gap to ease the night latch open. Indeed it wasn't the night latch that failed it was the wooden frame it was fixed into.
And if you look at your external door, and the protected hinges, and the three-point locking (operated by the handle with the Eurocylinder lock) on the outer door there is no comparison. You're not going to kick the outer door open. So for a quick entry they'd most likely snap the Eurocylinder and open the door with the handle.
I've seen security consultants (former thieves) gain entry to all sorts of locked buildings and the mortice lock will kick open (or with a breaching 'knocker') just as easily as the night latch. And there are BS certified night latches as well as mortice locks.
And if you look at your external door, and the protected hinges, and the three-point locking (operated by the handle with the Eurocylinder lock) on the outer door there is no comparison. You're not going to kick the outer door open. So for a quick entry they'd most likely snap the Eurocylinder and open the door with the handle.
I've seen security consultants (former thieves) gain entry to all sorts of locked buildings and the mortice lock will kick open (or with a breaching 'knocker') just as easily as the night latch. And there are BS certified night latches as well as mortice locks.
Permabanned
I take on board what your saying and yes a professional thief with the right knowledge will be able to defeat pretty much any lock, their are videos on YouTube of people lock picking even the most expensive, military grade padlocks that cost upwards of 1k.
The thing is you potentially get different kinds of people trying to gain access to a house. Professionals will do it quietly without you even knowing. A smack head will not be picking a lock, he will look for the easiest opportunity and will likely know like me, that a night latch can be easily kicked through. You could have a violent person, an ex, a drug dealer etc who again will not be looking to pick your locks.
I get that your knowledge exceeds the average joes but it’s skewed towards the mind of a professional thief. Not every thief has a professional skill set and for those looking to use brute force a night latch on its own isn’t stopping them.
Anyhoo that’s my 2 cents.
The thing is you potentially get different kinds of people trying to gain access to a house. Professionals will do it quietly without you even knowing. A smack head will not be picking a lock, he will look for the easiest opportunity and will likely know like me, that a night latch can be easily kicked through. You could have a violent person, an ex, a drug dealer etc who again will not be looking to pick your locks.
I get that your knowledge exceeds the average joes but it’s skewed towards the mind of a professional thief. Not every thief has a professional skill set and for those looking to use brute force a night latch on its own isn’t stopping them.
Anyhoo that’s my 2 cents.